Alcaeus of Mytilene Poems

What constitutes a State?
Not high-raised battlement, or labored mound,
Thick wall or moated gate;
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Now here, now there, the wild waves sweep,
Whilst we, betwixt them o'er the deep,
In shatter'd tempest-beaten bark,
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The worst of ills, and hardest to endure,
Past hope, past cure,
Is Penury, who, with her sister-mate
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The fisher Diotimus had, at sea
And shore, the same abode of poverty--
His trusty boat;--and when his days were spent,
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From roof to roof the spacious palace halls
Glitter with war's array;
With burnished metal clad, the lofty walls
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The rain of Zeus descends, and from high heaven
A storm is driven:
And on the running water-brooks the cold
Lays icy hold;
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Why wait we for the torches' lights?
Now let us drink while day invites.
In mighty flagons hither bring
The deep-red blood of many a vine,
...